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Morning Reading List 10.08.12.

1.Tucker, bow-ties, page views and the NYT — On Sunday NYT media writer Brian Stelter had a story that’s likely to creep under the skin of some in Washington media. It’s an extremely favorable yarn about The Daily Caller‘s success with a news peg on last week’s 2007 video of President Obama, which some dismissed as over-hyped. The piece states that traffic-wise the outlet has surpassed The Hill and is gaining on The Washington Times. They regard WaPo as among their chief competitors. Memorable line: Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson — “It took me 20 years to realize that wearing a bow tie is like wearing a middle finger around your neck.”

2. Rich Man Poor Man — WaPo, for all its digital irritations, has a great infographic out this morning detailing members of Congress and their wealth. With the click of a mouse, we can see a lawmaker’s net worth and how, for better and worse, they handle their finances. We’re hardly nerds but we could play with this for at least an hour. See here.

3. Our Ezzy turns heads — Columbia Journalism Review has an absolutely glowing profile out on WaPo‘s Ezra Klein. Via the Politico Playbook, we learn that author Matt Welch writes that Ez is “handsome enough to make the ladies turn their heads, and affable enough that their boyfriends compete for his attentions, too.” The headline on the story by Matt Welch is perfection: “The Boy in the Bubble.” We particularly love that Welch unleashes a Boybander explosion in the second graph and quotes one of Klein’s best buds: “He is just a good explanatory reporter and writer,” says David Weigel of Slate. But this is peculiar: There is one small graph on Klein’s JournoList, which Welch says Ez still defends though he doesn’t offer any quotes from him on it. “If anything, his professional rise has only accelerated in the wake of this kerfuffle,” writes Welch, unable to contain his unstoppable admiration for his story subject.